Opinions

A low afternoon sun is shining on our office PV system just now – and the back row has a small amount of shading on it (was predicted in our modelling).

Looking at comments on the draft of Edition 3 of the PV guide … bit surprised we didn’t get more comments on the AC module part of section 2.1.13 – d.c. isolation and switching…

As soon as DECC announced its intention to reduce feed-in tariff payments by more than 50 percent, with a cut-off date of December 12, the UK solar industry sprung into action. Some begun campaigning against the proposal, claiming it would damage the future of UK solar beyond repair, while most others prepared to work 24 hour days to complete projects before the cut-off point. Now, with more than 126MW added in on week alone, we face…

As New Year arrived I’m sure many of you reading this will have joined me in a collective sigh of relief as we left the turbulent UK solar industry of 2011 behind, looking forward to a more positive and (with any luck) stable market in 2012. But, at this time of great uncertainty, what really lies ahead?

Today Friends of the Earth and two solar companies have won their case against the unforeseen December 12 cut-off point – but is this really a “victory” for the UK solar industry, or have we been plonked between a rock and a hard place?

Engineering Recommendation G83/1-1 is a key document for the solar PV industry, as it sets the requirements for the connection of PV systems (of up to 16A per phase), to the distribution network. G83/1 addresses all technical aspects of the connection process from system functionality to site commissioning and was first published in 2002, with a revised version issued in 2008. Last week, the Distribution Code Review Panel (DCRP) approved the draft of ER G83/2 for public consultation.

As each and every one of you is painfully aware, on October 31 this year the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced Phase 1 of its consultation on feed-in tariffs, which revealed a 50 percent reduction to the current incentive rates for solar photovoltaics. While most of the post-consultation coverage focused on these cuts, a lot of our readers have also expressed concern over the new potential EPC requirements.

Arc Faults are once again on the agenda at the IEC PV meeting this week. Arc faults in a PV system have the potential to cause a fire – and, sadly, there are a number of documented cases around the world where this has occurred. In considering the issue, three categories of arcs need to be addressed…

Having spent the last few weeks on roofs installing, I am now swapping screwdriver for laptop and heading to an IEC PV standards meeting in Switzerland.

The Government, led by the DECC and Greg Barker, has consistently pushed the message that in these desperate fiscal times it is the best hope to create a sustainable solar industry in the UK. I wonder is it all rhetoric or will the Minister deliver on his promises?